


Jester and TJ have a chat.

by Rakolai



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22396075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rakolai/pseuds/Rakolai
Summary: **SPOILERS** Jester has a conversation with Beauregard's baby brother.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 71





	Jester and TJ have a chat.

**Author's Note:**

> This technically contains spoilers for Episode 92 of Critical Role Campaign 2. The scene itself doesn't actually happen during the episode but because the episode just aired yesterday, I've left a spoiler warning as a courtesy to the people who haven't seen it.
> 
> I thought that it would have been nice if more members of the Mighty Nein had gotten a chance to interact with Beau's family, especially young TJ. Here's what I think would have happened in a conversation between him and Jester.

Jester casts one last look at Beau as the expositor has a last hushed conversation with her mother, voices too low even for her sharp ears. Despite how tall she stands and the strength of her posture, there is a drained expression on the monk’s face, as if staying in this manor for as long as they have has sucked all of the energy out of her. Fjord and Caleb stand in another corner of the room with the man of the house and Jester cannot help but throw a dirty look at Thoreau Lionett’s back, with her tongue stuck out for good measure. He could give all the apologies in the world and feel as sorry as he likes, the man was still an asshole for how he treated his daughter in her childhood. No amount of forgiveness can change that.

But right now, Jester’s focus is not on her friends, even as she catches Nott idling a little too long by a set of expensive-looking baubles. Her boots tread daintily across the marble floor that squeaks when she twists her step just right as she approaches the youngest member of Beau’s family. Thoreau Junior looks in her direction with two large eyes, bright blue just like his big sister’s, and Jester puts on a big smile as she drops down into a squat.

“Hi, TJ,” she says as she balances on the balls of her feet and raises a hand to wiggle her fingers. “I’m Jester.”

“Hi.” The boy’s response is slightly garbled by the jade necklace that he holds in his mouth. He smiles at her, unafraid and innocent and Jester crosses her arms over her knees to lean in a bit closer.

“Your sister Beau is my best friend in the whole world,” she tells him. “She’s really smart and like, super-duper strong and she’s just really, really cool, ya’ know?”

“Uh huh.” The beads clack together as TJ nods. “She’s cool.”

“That’s right,” Jester smiles, “so you’re super lucky to have her as your big sister, okay? That means you have to love her no matter what and if anyone says anything mean about her, then you have to stick up for her, okay?”

“What’s that mean?”

“Well…” Jester thinks for a moment on how best to explain this to a three-year-old. She is briefly distracted as she muses that TJ is probably taller than Luc, who is at least two years his senior. “It means,” she finally says, “that if someone says means things about her, then you have to be like ‘No, shut up! Beau’s the best! She’s really awesome!’ and all that.”

“Oh. Okay!” Jester watches his brown face scrunch up as his smile widens and suddenly, the image of Beau’s weary visage flashes briefly over his. The vision is gone just as soon as it appears but it does not lessen the chill that goes down her spine and she clutches her arms just a little tighter.

“TJ,” she says, still smiling even as her tone becomes serious. “Can I ask you something?”

“Okay.” She glances around the room to check for prying eyes and sees that both of his parents are still well-occupied in their own conversations. Nonetheless, she leans even closer and puts a hand next to her mouth to block her lips from sight.

“Are you happy here, TJ?” TJ nods his head eagerly, not even questioning why she had asked. “Are your mom and dad nice to you?”

“Uh huh,” he says. “I love mommy and daddy.”

“Okay, good,” Jester sighs, feeling the tension in her chest lessen ever so slightly. “They don’t do anything scary to you?”

“Daddy yells a lot sometimes.”

“Oh.” With another glance over her shoulder, she reaches for the holy symbol dangling from her wrist, holding it up as TJ’s eyes immediately lock on to the new shiny object before them. “Do you know The Traveler, TJ?”

“Who’s that?” he asks.

“Well, he’s only the coolest god ever!” Jester whispers, feeling the familiar excitement that comes with talking about her deity bubble forth. “He’s like, really, really powerful and he’s super cool and he loves to play pranks and he wears a green cloak, just like mine!”

“I like green,” TJ smiles excitedly and holds up the jade necklace, slick from slobbering on them.

“See? He sounds really awesome, right?”

“Uh huh.” TJ’s eyes are wide and focused completely on her, a toothy grin splitting his face as he clutches the jade in his little hands.

“Okay, okay, okay, so, here’s what I want you to do,” she says, making sure to keep her voice from raising lest one of the others overhear. “If your dad ever starts yelling again and you’re feeling scared, you can just pray to The Traveler and ask him for help and he’ll tell me that you’re in trouble because I’m like, his favorite follower and all that. So anyway, just pray to him and ask him to tell me and we’ll come and help you, okay?”

“Okay!” Jester isn’t sure just how much TJ actually understood as he nods, but his face and smile are both earnest and that is enough for her. She holds out her hand, all fingers down except for her pinky but when the boy just stares at it, she takes his free hand and shapes it into the appropriate configuration before hooking his pinky with hers and bobbing their linked hands once.

“Now it’s a promise.” TJ does not say anything, the beads back in his mouth, but he nods again to show that he’s heard her. Later on, as the Mighty Nein exit stiffly through the front doors of the Lionett estate, Jester takes one more look back at the grand house and catches sight of the young boy peeking around his mother’s green dress. She raises her hand and wiggles her fingers again and this time, a little hand clutching a jade necklace appears and waves back.


End file.
